Withers, a student from Roseland in Nelson County, Virginia, enlisted in the Royal Air Force and participated in the famous May 30, 1942, night-bombing raid on Cologne, Germany. The raid devastated the city, starting 1700 major fires and destroying or heavily damaging almost 28,000 buildings. The city burned so brightly that the returning fighter planes could still see it 150 miles away. A week later Withers wrote to Dean George A. Ferguson describing the raid and the homeward run dodging flak and search lights. Ferguson's secretary made a copy of the letter for Professor Atcheson L. Hench who noted that Withers was killed soon afterwards.